Betting on Horse Races and Dog Races
Posted by: willie in Horse Racing Handicapping, Random Thoughts, dog track, dogtrack Willie, greyhound racing handicapping, horse racing betting, horseracingThere are people who only bet on either dogs or horses, and then there are other people who bet both on thoroughbreds and greyhounds, and of course, let’s not forget the other races, such as harness horses, Arabians, quarter horses, mules(?), etc. I once bet on a lobster race in Bar Harbor, Maine. (some people will bet on anything)
Most of the time I am pretty careful about getting what I consider good value for my money, no matter what I am betting on. I will admit there have been times in my life when I bought lottery tickets, but that was mostly just because I figured the government needed money. Unfortunately, they wasted most of what I gave them, so I went back to betting on horses and dogs. Hey, those ponies and puppies have to eat, too.
One nice thing about betting on the races is that almost everybody gets a piece of the pie. The race track, which employs local people and uses local services, gets money to continue operating. The people who invest in the runners get something back in purse money, though they seldom make a financial profit. The state and local government get something towards running their operations, too.
A lot of people get something out of racing, whether they bet or not. If you don’t like paying higher property taxes to support local education, then you might be a fan of racing, too, because some of the race track’s taxes go to support local education. What I am saying is that while the horse racing or dog racing community may seem insular at times, its impact is felt throughout the surrounding community.
There is a lot of controversy about the breeding of greyhounds and horses for racing purposes. Many people think that so many greyhounds or horses shouldn’t be bred and that their lives are short and unhappy. I’ve never seen a greyhound who didn’t seem happy chasing a lure and running with a pack of dogs. I think if we could ask those greyhounds whether they would rather have a chance to live and race or whether they would want to have never been born, they would choose life, wouldn’t you?
One of the arguments that the anti greyhound racing crowd are fond of is that the greyhounds spend a lot of time in a crate, and that is cruel. Ironically, many books on dog training suggest crate training a dog and leaving a dog in the crate overnight or while you go to work during the day.
It would be interesting to know how many of the people who are against greyhound racing, because it is supposedly cruel, keep their own pets in a crate, perhaps while they are working or sleeping or maybe when they are protesting at their local dog track, or any time when it is inconvenient for them to deal with their pet. There is a lot of hypocrisy in this old world and usually, when someone decides it is their duty to tell other people what they can do and what is right or wrong, you will find a hypocrite.
I have owned race horses and spent quite a bit of time on the backstretch. Not everyone who owns race horses is a horse lover and there are times when animals, thoroughbreds and greyhounds, are mistreated. On the other hand, there are times when domestic pets are mistreated, too. Most of the pople you will find caring for thoroughbreds or greyhounds are decent people with a genuine concern for the well being of their charges. Human nature what it is, there are always going to be a few bad apples and they should be weeded out.
We don’t need more laws, we just need to enforce the ones we have. We don’t need to outlaw anything else, we’ve got enough restrictions on our freedom and pursuit of happiness now. I have bet on races from countries all over the world and I have visited race tracks from Venezuela to Canada. Betting on horse races and betting on dog races is just something I do and that I love. Fortunately, there are still millions of people all over the world who enjoy a good race.
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